Texas' search for a D.C.
December 12, 2010
Less than a week after Greg Davis’ departure Texas head coach Mack Brown finds himself scrambling after defensive coordinator and head coach in waiting Will Muschamp took the head coaching job at Florida.
Suddenly the Longhorns need a new defensive signal caller.
In order to prevent chaos from erupting at Belmont Hall, Texas needs a defensive coordinator that will instill discipline in his unit and have a name and reputation big enough to hold onto current verbal commitments.
And what better place to find that person than at, drum roll please…. “The U” and former Hurricanes head coach Randy Shannon.
Brown has to bring in a big name coordinator like he did with Muschamp and Gene Chizik.
As a player and coach at Miami, Shannon was a part of three of Miami’s five national championship teams and during his tenure as defensive coordinator the Hurricanes produced 14 NFL first round picks and seven All-Americans.
Shannon was Miami’s defensive coordinator when the Hurricanes last won a national championship in 2001 and lost the title game to Ohio State in 2002.
What’s surprising was the job he did after the departures of defensive mainstays like Ed Reed and Jonathan Vilma.
From 2004-2006 Shannon’s defense ranked in the top 10 twice in both total defense and passing defense including the top ranked passing defense in 2005.
The Hurricanes ranked fifth in rushing defense in 2006, which is important given the fact that opponents ran the ball successfully on Mushamp’s defense last year.
The Longhorn rush defense gave up an average of 145 yards on the ground in Big 12 play and yielded 264 yards in UCLA and 238 yards to Texas A&M in home losses.
Shannon went 28-22 as the head coach at Miami, but his most impressive feat is changing the culture at that program.
During his four year tenure Shannon’s had the top Academic Progress Rate among BCS conference coaches and third overall in the Division I.
And there was only one, count it one, player arrest during Shannon’s regime.
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group6 says...
Nope! Horns will be back in 2011. Hook 'Em!!!! By the way, good luck to the Lady Horn Volleyball Team as they head to KC! Bring home the Championship Lady Horns!
December 13, 2010 at 11:32 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Sniperag says...
Really gonna be a crapshoot to predict what the hornies look like in 2011.
No one knows who the coaches are, how they will interact with the players & each other. Part of the problem this year in the 40 acres was disharmony amoung the offensivee & defensive staffs. Poor old Mack was caught in the middle, then he threw the whole bunch under the bus after the Iowa State game.
One thing to remember is they always have more talent than most everyone they will play. The talent keeps rolling into Austin regardless of who is coaching
December 14, 2010 at 3:31 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )